Vinnie Moore has gotta be the luckiest man on the planet. Not only has he landed the best job in rocknroll, but he has proved on merit that he has every right to be there.

He arrived, almost Out Of Nowhere, to join the rocknroll Maze that is UFO, and he is most definitely Ridin' High as the right man in the right place at the right time. The only drawback is that he no longer gets to stand in the front row of the crowd at a UFO gig. Still... he's Watching From The Light, which can only be a good thing!

Anyway, I decided to Awaken The Madman and ask him a few questions on behalf of SITN.

Let's Go!

First of all, huuuuuuuuuge congratulations on the European leg of the UFO tour. We all thought it was wonderful! How was it for you? Thanks Batttttty - the tour was a great experience for me and I can't wait for the upcoming US tour. UFO fans seem to be extremely loyal to the band and I am really happy that I was accepted into the family (so to speak) by them. It's a great family to be a part of. Most definitely! You and Jason were the new boys, but when I saw you all in France, you all looked so comfortable working together, like you'd been great mates for years. Considering the shoes you had to fill, there was a chance that some of the listeners would be analyzing every note you played and comparing it to Michael's playing. What amount of pressure, if any, did you feel because of this? Batttttty, I have been living in a world for years now where people are CONSTANTLY analyzing every note I play. Mainly guitarists. Besides doing my solo tours, I have always been very active at doing guitar seminars and have done hundreds of them all over the world. There is no scenario possible where you are analyzed more than playing in a room full of hardcore guitarists who basically come to see you because they wanna be impressed. So I guess what I am saying is that I am used to this kind of pressure and in a strange way thrive on it.

But.... having said that... I just go out there and do my best, try to have fun, and hope like hell that people like what I am doing. I'm never thinking that I need to try and impress anyone, I just go out onstage and do what I love to do, and let the inspiration flow. I really want people to like it of course, but if I got trapped into the mindset of trying to impress, it would kill the inspiration. Regarding your comments about us looking comfortable together onstage - it's all trickery - we actually can't stand one another. Those guys are all a bunch of freakin wankers. Haha - just joking. The truth is that we do all get along very well. Everyone genuinely loves what they are doing and the fact that we are all doing it together. It's the way a band should be really. We heard this comment just about every night after our gigs so it's obvious that it shows onstage. Plus, remember that we are still in our 'honeymoon' phase of the relationship. It takes a little time to acquire that intense hatred that one develops in a relationship - so give us a few years. Bahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

Since joining UFO, have you felt that you are only 'standing in' for Michael Schenker until all the planets line up again and Schenker rejoins? Or do you feel this is your new home for as long as you want it to be? Actually, Pete and I have planned that in a couple of years from now we will fire the rest of the band and begin a new phase (an Electric Phase) of UFO called WAY MOORE UFO. Awww man.... I love that one! Go ahead and admit it Batttttty - that was a pretty good one for coming off the top of my head. Certainly was darlin... 'way more UFO' is what we all want!

OK, seriously, the plan from the beginning has been that we will make a CD, go out and tour and try to build enough momentum so that we can continue to do this every year or two and that it of course grows and gets better. I made the mistake of calling this a 'project' once in one of my posts on my website (gratuitous advertisement for my website there) and was promptly and kindly informed by Phil and our manager that this is NOT a project - it is a band. This was GREAT for me to hear. The vibe has always been that everyone wants this to last. Having said that, no-one knows what the future brings. We make our best plans based on the info we have and how we feel at a given moment, but there are always bumps and curves in the road that cause us to re-evaluate and make adjustments. Life is a 'work in progress', we are creating our own realities as we go. We all know by now that it is ridiculous to say with absolute certainty what we will be doing in the future. We are a band who wants to continue doing what we do into the future. We hope that things get better and better for us and things GROW. I want us to continue to grow as songwriters and performers. So together, let's see what the future holds. Anyone's guess isn't it? It is - but I can tell you that the lurve of SITN is a very powerful thing, and we wish you well for that future - and if SITN's positive wossnames can be put to good use for the benefit of UFO, then that's something we're proud to be part of. Like you said, the loyalty of UFO fans is very strong. We are here because UFO are (still!) here!

UFO's music is very strong on melody, and you are a very melodic guitar player and composer. Do you think this is what Phil recognized in you when he was looking for a guitarist for the new-era UFO, and the reason he chose you for the band? I don't actually know. I never asked him and it is hard to get inside one's head. How did you first hear from Phil that he was interested in you joining the band, and how did things progress from that initial contact? I got a call from my manager Frank Solomon who told me that our friend Jerry Carillo had told him that UFO was looking for a guitarist. Jerry is a soundman, tour manager and guitar tech. When I toured with Schenker in 1999, Jerry was the tour manager and guitar tech for both Michael and I. He was also soundman for UFO on their last tour. In his own head, he thought that I was the perfect fit for UFO. When Frank called to tell me about it, I have to be honest - I was not convinced that this was a great idea. I mean, I was always a big UFO and Michael Schenker fan but being the pessimistic guy that I am, I just wasn't sure about it. I initially assumed that they just wanted some hired hand to replace Michael. I went along with it though and sent out a CD of eleven of my tunes to Phil and figured that I would never hear any more about it. However, I got a call about five days later saying that Phil wanted me to be the new guitarist in UFO, but wanted to send my tunes to Pete and Paul to see if they felt the same way he did. At first I felt like, wait a minute here - I am not entirely sure I want to do this. As I got more and more info though, it sounded better and better. The band wanted a guitarist who is an equal member and who is a major contributor with songwriting... etc. Being a real member and contributor is what sealed it for me. I am, in my own head, beyond the point of being some hired hand in someone else's band. I had this role in Alice Cooper's band a while back, and it just isn't appealing for me anymore. Really wasn't then to be honest and this is why I didn't last in that situation. I want to have a major role in anything I am involved with. There are exceptions though, I would gladly be a hired hand in The Britany Spears Band, but this is different because I would have a damn nice ass to look at onstage every night. We all have our own price huh?? Heeheee. From there, I started sending songs to Phil and he was writing lyrics for them. When we had enough stuff, we went into the studio to rehearse and then record.

UFO fans who hadn't heard your albums before wouldn't have been aware of this, but Phil used some of your original tunes (with a new arrangement) and added his lyrics to them for You Are Here. My view is that it's offered your music to a wider audience, which can only be a good thing. What sort of feedback have you had from your long-term fans about your original music being used on a UFO album? For the most part, from what I have read online - most VM fans seem to be real happy about this. There have been a few of course though, that don't like the fact that we did this. When Phil heard the first CD I sent him, he was inspired by a handful of the tunes which were instrumental. He thought he could really do something special with them and turn them into something new. At first, I was a little reluctant because I knew I could write a bunch of new stuff and also, I was a little worried about what the fans would think. When I first heard Baby Blue though, all my concerns went out the window. It was like - 'Holy fuck - this is great - don't stop Phil...don't stop Phil'. Yeh, it's like a magic takes over, aint it, and you just want to let it roll. Hey, I just thought... you can now say that you HAVE been to Barcelona!

One of the things that everyone seems to have picked up on, is how the five of you are a 'real' band - a team. There's a real camaraderie between you all that is very noticeable to the crowd. I've gotta tell ya, we love it - it gives such a sense of feelgoodery to the audience! Offstage, how do you all get one with each other? Tell us some road-tales.... don't spare anyone's blushes, c'monnnn. As I said above, we all get on great with one another. Give us a year or two though and I am sure we'll have some good stories. For now, the best I have is that the band was divided into two camps on the tour bus. The smokers and the non-smokers. Jason quit smoking back in December and we welcomed him with open arms into the non smoker club, leaving poor Phil as the only smoker in the band. Don't worry though, we'll eventually get into his head and convert him into one of US, haha. Until then, he is confined to the front of the tour bus with the other pollution-contributing dwellers. Hahaha yeh, I ended up staying in 'The Smokers Lounge' too, cos I couldn't fight my way through the haze to get to the back of the bus. Nice people though, every damn one of them. Great company - and thanks to all of you for making me so welcome.

Hey, when I've seen you playing your solo stuff, you seem to kinda go off on one, a bit trancelike, and you pull some really intense and 'orrible faces.... (sorry, you're gonna be all self-conscious about that now, aint ya). Nope - been hearing that one for years. Hahahah, but you do seem to be thoroughly engrossed in the music as though there's nothing else around you. And yet offstage you're such a light-hearted easy-going kinda fella who looks like he doesn't take anything too seriously. Yes, you're just a big kid - there I've said it! But what world do you go into when you your brain clicks into 'play' mode? I am no longer thinking at all. I just let the music take me. It's kinda weird actually, it's almost like the music takes over and you are merely a vehicle for some greater thing which is controlling you as opposed to you controlling it. So 'trancelike' is actually a great way to describe it. This is also the state I like to get into when I am writing music. If I think too much when writing, it just doesn't work as well. When I just play the guitar and it starts to flow without me being consciously aware of it, it is always more magical and inspirational. Again, it is like there is something deeper that you are tapping into that has chosen you to be its messenger. Wow..... and just think....... I don't even smoke dope. Imagine how 'out there' I would be if I torched up a doobie. Blimey yeh - it doesn't bear thinkin about...

What is your favourite song from You Are Here to perform live, and why? When Daylight Comes To Town and Baby Blue, because they are the best tunes from the new record which we play in the Live set, and they get the best audience response. And what was your favourite classic UFO song to perform live and why? Probably Rock Bottom because I get a lot of room to stretch out and improvise so anything could happen on any given night.

When you were growing up, who did you air-guitar to? Do you still stand on your bed every evening and do the whole air-guitar thangggg with the light on and your bedroom curtains wide open? Does a crowd still assemble on the opposite side of the road, looking in? Do you have someone out there making them pay to watch? Why not - I would! Did you smoke a doobie before asking this one Batttttty?? Ha! I had many guitarists I air-guitared to when I was a kid. Ritchie Blackmore, Brian May, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Ted Nugent, Frank Marino, Eddie Van Halen, Robin Trower, Michael Schenker, Larry Carlton, Al DiMeola, Allan Holdsworth. I would rewind cassettes after the solos so I could hear 'em over again. And if I was in a car, I had to stop the tape right before the solo if I had to stop at a red-light. I just couldn't listen to a solo stopped at a light. Had to be moving. To this day, I hate it when a tune is on the radio and I have to stop at a light when the solo is happening. This kills my mojo man. Errr yehh... mine too....

Mind's Eye is one of the few instrumental albums that I play alot, all these years after it first came out. I have three copies of it (two in vinyl!). There's a lot going on in those tunes, and it all came from inside your brain/soul/heart/wherever. 'Wherever' is very accurate. Cause I have absolutely no clue. Is there another Mind's Eye inside you waiting to come out? Every artist needs to believe that his next work will be his best and most inspired yet. (plagiarised quotation alert!). If you are talking stylistically though, the answer is no. I am simply a much different person than the 21 year old kid who made that record. It's amazing that you were only 21 when you composed and performed that. And you recorded it in only eleven days too!!! Truly, I'm in awe! Are you constantly writing new music? What kind of things inspire you? And when you feel a tune coming on, is it something you have to write down or record straight away or it drives you mad like a pinball rolling round your head, kinda thing? Or can you carry it in your brain until you get the chance to work on it. Tell us how the writing thannngggg happens.

I write music in spurts. I won't write something for months and then I'll write constantly every day for months. Things that are going on around me in my little world are what inspire me I guess. It's all I know so that's what comes out of me maybe????. I won't pretend that I know anything at all about how all this works. I have been doing it for years and I still don't understand it. Gave up trying long ago. All I know is that when I FEEL - I WRITE - and this is all.

I keep a little walkman around and record my ideas as soon as possible because I do forget them.Once I am started on a new tune though, it is hard for me to turn it off. It stays in my head constantly and as I like to say - starts to ferment up there. Just like beer! I come up with lots of ideas for a new tune when I am laying in bed or driving or something. Inspiration has its own time and you have to be there when it calls because it can often be a feast or famine type of thing. So I have learned to take it when it gives to me.

OK, now this whole amps'n'valves thannnngggggg.... I remember reading that you have about eight million guitars or something silly like that. You make your kids sleep in a drawer so that they don't take up space in your house that could be used for guitars instead. You have guitars dangling from the ceiling, defying gravity (hah!) and your poor wife is only allowed one small closet for her clothes. You even have a huge Marshall amp in your bathroom. (I don't think it's a good idea to have the knobs on that one turned to eleven though darlin.... ). Boring boring boring. You are making me snore. I have a studio at home and most of my axes are in there. I do have a few but not that many actually. I don't collect them. I consider them tools and mostly have ones that are useful to me.

Hmmm... ok, I believe ya. Your Gear page gives more detail (a lot more detail...... ) but tell us about that beautiful baby you were using on the recent tour. My main axe is a Music Man Silhouette Special. It has been my main guitar for seven or eight years now. I have other things like Strats and Les Pauls that I use to record with also, but the MM is my main geetar.

Apart from UFO, what do you think is the most exciting thing happening in the world of rocknroll at the moment? What 'today' bands do you think have got the magic? I am probably the wrong guy to ask as I don't keep up on things like I used to. Anyone who is true to their art, and a slave to their music has reached greatness in my book. Speaking of slave, Audioslave has some great stuff. Chris Cornell has always been a real creative interesting artist, and Tommy Morello is one of the few newer guitar guys who is doing something great. There are always a bunch of people doing great things out there though. For instance, I happened to catch the freakin Indigo Girls on TV the other night and was blown away at their talent. Beautiful. To me greatness transcends style, and this is why I like many styles of music. Except Disco, that STILL sucks!! Hahahaha yeh.

What do you hope to be doing in five years time? Where do you see UFO then? And in ten years time? And beyond? Oh please! Oh yeh, WAY MOORE UFO of course, and looking after your colony of bats! OK then, what hobbies and interests do you have when you're not making music? It's not still covering yourself in honey and pole-dancing at the local convent, is it? Computer-related stuff has really become something interesting to me over the last few years. Unfortunately, I can't deny it. Then, there's always the women thing. GOD just simply outdid herself when she created women. I appreciate.... I appreciate.

Yeh... ok... Any message to your loyal long-term fans, and also to the new fans who have found you via SITN since you joined the greatest band in the world? Yeah - Thanks a freakin million times over for everything. I have been sooo fortunate to be given the gift to do what I truly love doing, (even though it does create most of the misery in my life - haha!). I really feel like it is the fans who have given me this gift because quite simply, I could not possibly be doing what I do without them. I would be workin at the local music shop or something - who knows, a guy named Vinnie probably makes a great Pizza. I am just some kid from Delaware who plays guitar and has been lucky enough that there are enough people out there who happen to like what I do. Don't get me wrong, I work really, really hard at what I do - IT IS a labor of love. I do however feel like I owe my fans everything. In a strange way, they have created me because I am able to do what I do because they are there supporting and carrying me. (Kinda like that backwards theory that I mentioned above where the music chooses you - you don't choose it). I still can't believe I don't smoke reefer. Man I'm out there. In and out of self-awareness. Sorry man. Hahahha, yeh - and I so truly agree that the music chooses you and you don't choose it. Anything in life that becomes a vocation or just becomes your reason for living is there inside/outside/under/above/around you because it's chosen you as an outlet and not the other way round. Whoaaawwww, stop me, I'm talkin Battttttyish. But you know what I mean, don't ya! Sure do!

Well, of course I wish you luck for everything you do in the future, and it was an honour to interview you (really!) but I'll tell you what has surprised me the most about this interview.... having spent a week on the road with you and shared a pizza with you in a restaurant which was actually CLOSED but which they re-opened just for us two, purely because, well, purely because we ARE the boys and we've got nothing to lose ... the thing that surprised me most about this interview is that you're actually quite sensible! VERY sensible in fact! Of course I asked ultra-intelligent questions, but you gave really ultra-intelligent answers! Blimey! You're a thinking machine! I'm proud of ya! YOU ARE HERE darlin! (Don't forget you owe me $500 for that therapy thingy).

© Batttttty - April 6th 2004

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